ffordes break in..!

holty said:
leica they are over priced toys anyway especially at ffordes
they will be well insured so the owner won't be losing any sleep he will be rubbing his hands :LOL:
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wrong. shops need customers coming through the door, buying products at retail price to make profits. with no products to sell and receiving only wholesale cost insurance reimbursement and consequent delays in receiving insurance money and replacement stock, this will likely cause hardship.

moron.
 
Wow, that list is huge...that's a huge amount of equipment stolen. I'm hoping they can recover from this as I'd be extremely worried the thieves return as there's so much expensive equipment there and at the edge of a small town they're pretty much in the middle of nowhere. They are my local camera shop and always found them very pleasant and extremely knowledgeable which is a rarity these days for shops.
 
At the risk of getting flamed, I'd just like to point out that there's no way they were going to all that in the one Billingham 335 shoulder bag they took :coat:
 
RaglanSurf said:
At the risk of getting flamed, I'd just like to point out that there's no way they were going to all that in the one Billingham 335 shoulder bag they took :coat:
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If you think you're going to get flamed, why make the comment?
It's not even funny.
 
That is a LOT of kit. No way was that just random yobs, they'd never be able to shift that lot down the pub. That's most probably gone abroad and was stolen to order.
 
£166,000 is the final figure that Ffordes are stating on their FB page now. The front window was rammed and then pulled out, and the whole thing took less than ten minutes!
 
Carl Hall said:
The front window was rammed and then pulled out, and the whole thing took less than ten minutes!
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WOW an attack like that is difficult to defend, maybe steel shutters would be better when replacing the window, also a security camera might help if they didn't have one.
 
Just about the only thing that will protect against a determined ram raider is a large 3+ foot tall and wide flower-bed type wall filled with earth, or similar. If the vehicle is big enough and the offenders aren't bothered about damaging it, then it will cope with small metal bollards and stove in shutters. Then attach a chain to the wreckage of the shutters and drive forwards, taking the lot out in one go. I'm sure there will be footage on YouTube of this sort of ram raid happening. I'd imagine they'd have security cameras and that's probably how they found out how long the job took, but security cameras are only really much use if the offenders can be recognised and vehicles are displaying genuine number plates or markings tracible to the perpetrators, etc. Anyway, let's hope they catch them and recover the stolen goods.
 
Mr Badger said:
security cameras are only really much use if the offenders can be recognised and vehicles are displaying genuine number plates or markings tracible to the perpetrators, etc. Anyway, let's hope they catch them and recover the stolen goods.
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There's a very high probability the person/s responsible visited the shop to check out the goods they planned to steal a few days before the break in. I'm sure the police are checking the archives of the interior CCTV. The scumbags will probably already be in the police files.
 
Looking at google street view, ffordes looks like a house also with B&B (well if I'm looking at the correct place)...I was thinking it's like a high street shop, but can't work out where the ram raiding took place..
 
It's a former church if I remember correctly.
 
Here it is. The window on the RH ground floor will be the Leica room. (this was taken at the Fuji X-T 2 launch in 2016, in case you were wondering!)
DSCF3716-red.jpg
 
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Peter B said:
Here it is. The window on the RH ground floor will be the Leica room. (this was taken at the Fuji X-T 2 launch in 2016, in case you were wondering!)
View attachment 135526
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Blimey, that window is not what you think of as a conventional ram raid target

I retweeted their appeal on Twitter when it was posted, but this looks like a highly targeted break in
 
Although I was talking to someone at Ffordes about a potential Leica purchase just the other day (they were very polite and helpful), I hadn't realised until this thread that they have a dedicated Leica minisite:

http://www.rangefinder.uk.com/

It has a picture of what is presumably the room that was hit:

http://www.rangefinder.uk.com/assets/slides/shop1.jpg

Always a shame to hear about this type of crime, targeting a well-liked business. Hopefully the thieves won't find it easy to unload that gear without being spotted - the Leica world is fairly small, Wetzlar and all the major dealers will be on the lookout for those serial numbers, and ebay etc. will be carefully scrutinised for a long time. What are they going to do - advertise a Leica S on Craigslist and try to exchange it for cash in a pub? Or pass the lot on to a Leica-collecting mob boss?
 
Retune said:
Or pass the lot on to a Leica-collecting mob boss?
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Probably this. SOME collectors aren't that fussy about the provenance of their trinkets, although that tends to be in the upper echelons of rarity rather than "run of the mill" production items.
 
A real shame. I have made a couple of purchases from ffordes (non Leica) and have never had any issues.

This is such a crap thing to happen to these guys, and a ram raid to boot........

Stolen to order I wonder, and more than likely (as one poster has suggested) out of the country by now I'm sure

Hope this has no reputation repercussions on ffordes as they do commission based sales, so I would be a double blow if a lot of that kit was supplied to them on that basis.
 
It might be worthwhile sharing this info on international forums/facebook pages etc. that we are members of - so that the reach of the news goes far and wide. If they are destined for international markets - at least somewhere in the future - someone might spot one, which could give a lead to the investigation, if they haven't already got one...
 
cymruchris said:
It might be worthwhile sharing this info on international forums/facebook pages etc. that we are members of - so that the reach of the news goes far and wide. If they are destined for international markets - at least somewhere in the future - someone might spot one, which could give a lead to the investigation, if they haven't already got one...
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It has just become a news item on DP Review.
 
"insurance company is currently working on its own investigation and is expected to settle, albeit for far less than what Ffordes paid for the equipment"
From dpreview

Really very sad :(
Insurance companies are b*******. :mad:

Such a great shop, lovely people and overall great experience if anyone shopped with them. I hope they do well in future... And hope the criminals are caught
 
nandbytes said:
"insurance company is currently working on its own investigation and is expected to settle, albeit for far less than what Ffordes paid for the equipment"
From dpreview

Really very sad :(
Insurance companies are b*******. :mad:

Such a great shop, lovely people and overall great experience if anyone shopped with them. I hope they do well in future... And hope the criminals are caught
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Exactly as i said earlier! then the premium will go up and you end up paying back what you've claimed in the 'long run' anyway! It's enough to put many small businesses 'to the wall' :-(

We really,really need companies like ffordes in an ever increasing internet age; the prices are superb for what they sell IME & customer service second to none!
 
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nandbytes said:
"insurance company is currently working on its own investigation and is expected to settle, albeit for far less than what Ffordes paid for the equipment"
From dpreview

Really very sad :(
Insurance companies are b*******. :mad:

Such a great shop, lovely people and overall great experience if anyone shopped with them. I hope they do well in future... And hope the criminals are caught
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Where has that information come from?.

The insurance company is legally obliged to indemnify the insured for all loses so I fail to see how Ffordes can be out of pocket!

Insurance companies are not b******* at all. They pay out millions of pounds every year to people who have sufferd loses. I do not understand your remark at all!
 
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shapeshifter said:
Where has that information come from?.

The insurance company is legally obliged to indemnify the insured for all loses so I fail to see how Ffordes can be out of pocket!

Insurance companies are not b******* at all. They pay out millions of pounds every year to people who have sufferd loses. I do not understand your remark at all!
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I stated the reference under the quote.
Feel free to go read it on dpreview.

Do you work for an insurance company?

Insurance companies are exactly what I said they are. They don't pay anyone anything. They simply give you a long term low interest loan.
 
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Fraser Euan White said:
Exactly as i said earlier! then the premium will go up and you end up paying back what you've claimed in the 'long run' anyway! It's enough to put many small businesses 'to the wall' :-(

We really,really need companies like ffordes in an ever increasing internet age; the prices are superb for what they sell IME & customer service second to none!
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I agree, I am big supporter of such shops and especially have a soft spot for ffordes and LCE because I have used them a lot previously. I really would hate to see them go under because of these criminals. Stealing is one thing but they could be destroying the livelihood of people working there. Inconsiderate scumbags.

Insurance companies are day light robbery. They don't care about your livelihood at all. They only care about filling their already thick fat pockets.
 
ecoleman said:
Did I miss the sign that said we have to leave our sense of humour at the door?

Geez, they got broken into. It happens, it’s a shame, but nobody died.
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No, but there are times when humour is appropriate, and times when it's not...
 
Bobsyeruncle said:
If you think you're going to get flamed, why make the comment?
It's not even funny.
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Humour, like beauty is often in the eye or ear of the beholder. I personally found the remark hilarious and so did my wife :D
 
RaglanSurf said:
Humour, like beauty is often in the eye or ear of the beholder. I personally found the remark hilarious and so did my wife :D
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Blessed are the cheesemakers, say I (in fact all makers of dairy produce). I also found it amusing and I am a notorious curmudgeon :D.
 
Bobsyeruncle said:
No, but there are times when humour is appropriate, and times when it's not...
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There's nothing wrong with making light of a bad situation. As I said retailers get broken into, it's a shame but nobody died.
I found the post quite funny. Certainly not immature or inappropriate as it's been labelled.

I'm so glad we don't all belong to the PC brigade. What a dull world we'd live in.
 
Comedy is truth.... It's never too soon. :D
 
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